Disney's Jungle Book Kids and Just So Stories from Young Performers

After a summer's worth of coaching by musical-theater professionals, a talented cast of young actors takes to the stage to show off their chops with performances based on Disney's classic animated musical, The Jungle Book, along with Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories.The Jungle Book follows Mowgli the wolf boy and his friends Baloo the Bear and Bagheera the Panther as they try to thwart the ferocious tiger Shere Khan. This family-friendly adaptation of the film, performed by two casts in subsequent months, contains many of the movie's songs including "The Bare Necessities" and "I Wan'na Be Like You," while the specially-adapted Just So Stories explores the origins of animals like the camel and leopard.

We see three or four Berkeley Playhouse productions each year. This one included dear friends in it and we were happy to see all the 7-10 year olds pull together a fun performance. There were some shining moments and some rough patches, as you...continued

Very sweet! The youthful exhuberance of teens and pre-teens is put to good use in this great musical. They served it well. Sets, sound, music, and lighting marvelous. Especially when riki tiki tavy scared the musicians!

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July 28-30, 2011: Directed by Elizabeth McKoy. Music Direction by Angela Zullinger

August 19-21, 2011: Directed by Dane Paul Andres. Music Direction by Jonathan Fadner

Music and Lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman and Terry Gilkyson / Book and additional lyrics by Marcy Heisler / Music adapted and arranged by Bryan Louiselle / Just So Stories written for stage by Jon Tracy with additional original music by Bryan Louiselle

The jungle is jumpin’ with jazz in this exciting Disney classic, also including exciting Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling. Find out how the camel got its hump or the leopard got its spots, then join Mowgli, Baloo, King Louie and the gang as they swing their way through madcap adventures to thwart the ferocious tiger, Shere Khan!

With specially adapted-for-stage Kipling classics in Act One and a musical adapted from the beloved film, in Act Two, The Jungle Book includes all your favorite Disney tunes, like “The Bare Necessities,” and “I Wan’na Be Like You” plus a few new ones! The Jungle Book Kids & Just So Stories will take you on a journey with colorful characters and toe-tapping jungle rhythm – a sure crowd-pleaser for audiences of all ages. _

__Jungle Book_ is the culmination of a five-week performance camp where young performers immerse and rehearse in intensive musical theatre training with professional directors, choreographers and specialists.

From its humble beginnings as a theatre education program in Founder Elizabeth McKoy’s living room, Berkeley Playhouse has quickly become one of the largest arts organizations in the Bay Area, with nearly 25,000 individuals coming to see its professional musical productions, and over 1000 students studying in the School of Musical Theatre each year.

Housed in the historic Julia Morgan Theater, Berkeley Playhouse produces quality theater for all ages and it is common to see two, three, and even four generations of families sitting together enjoying shows like Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, or Fiddler on the Roof.